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January 2
January 2 is the second day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 363 days remaining until the end of the year (364 in leap years). Contents 1 Events 2 Births 3 Deaths 4 Holidays and observances 5 External links Events 366 – The Alemanni cross the frozen Rhine in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire. 533 – Mercurius becomes Pope John II, the first pope to adopt a new name upon elevation to the papacy. 1492 – Reconquista: the Emirate of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, surrenders. 1777 – American Revolutionary War: American forces under the command of George Washington repulsed a British attack at the Battle of the Assunpink Creek near Trenton, New Jersey. 1788 – Georgia becomes the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution. 1791 – Big Bottom massacre in the Ohio Country, marking the beginning of the Northwest Indian War. 1818 – The British Institution of Civil Engineers is founded. 1833 – Reassertion of British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. 1860 – The discovery of the planet Vulcan is announced at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, France. 1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Stones River (a.k.a. Battle of Murfreesboro) resumes in central Tennessee after a day's respite, resulting in a significant Union victory. 1865 – Uruguayan War: The Siege of Paysandú ends as Brazilian and Coloradans capture Paysandú, Uruguay. 1871 – Amadeus I becomes King of Spain. 1900 – American statesman and diplomat John Hay announces the Open Door Policy to promote trade with China. 1905 – Russo-Japanese War: The Russian garrison surrenders at Port Arthur, China. 1911 – A gun battle in the East End of London left two dead and sparked a political row over the involvement of then-Home Secretary Winston Churchill. 1920 – The second Palmer Raid takes place with another 6,000 suspected communists and anarchists arrested and held without trial. These raids take place in several U.S. cities. 1935 – Bruno Hauptmann goes on trial for the murder of Charles Lindbergh, Jr., infant son of aviator Charles Lindbergh. 1941 – World War II: German bombing severely damages the Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. 1942 – The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) convicts 33 members of a German spy ring headed by Fritz Joubert Duquesne in the largest espionage case in United States history—the Duquesne Spy Ring. 1942 – World War II: Manila, Philippines is captured by Japanese forces. 1945 – World War II: Nuremberg, Germany (in German, Nürnberg) is severely bombed by Allied forces. 1949 – Luis Muñoz Marín becomes the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico. 1955 – Panamanian president José Antonio Remón Cantera is assassinated. 1959 – Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the Soviet Union. 1963 – Vietnam War: The Viet Cong wins its first major victory in the Battle of Ap Bac. 1967 – Ronald Reagan sworn in as Governor of California 1971 – The second Ibrox disaster kills 66 fans at a Rangers-Celtic association football (soccer) match. 1974 – United States President Richard Nixon signs a bill lowering the maximum U.S. speed limit to 55 MPH in order to conserve gasoline during an OPEC embargo. 1975 – A bomb blast at Samastipur, Bihar, India, fatally wounds Minister of Railways Lalit Narayan Mishra. 1975 – Bangladeshi Marxist leader Siraj Sikder is arrested and dies while in police custody. 1976 – The Gale of January 1976 begins, which results in coastal flooding around the southern North Sea coasts, resulting in at least 82 deaths and US$1.3 billion in damage. 1981 – One of the largest investigations by a British police force ends when serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, the "Yorkshire Ripper", is arrested in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. 1992 – Leaders of armed opposition declare the President Zviad Gamsakhurdia deposed during a military coup in Georgia. 1993 – Sri Lankan Civil War: The Sri Lanka Navy kill 35-100 civilians on the Jaffna Lagoon. 1999 – A brutal snowstorm smashes into the Midwestern United States, causing 14 inches (359 mm) of snow in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and 19 inches (487 mm) in Chicago, where temperatures plunge to -13 °F (-25 °C); 68 deaths are reported. 2004 – Stardust successfully flies past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that are returned to Earth. 2006 – An explosion in a coal mine in Sago, West Virginia traps and kills 12 miners, while leaving one miner in critical condition. 2011 – January 2011 Baghdad shootings take place. 2013 – Barack Obama signs the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. Births 869 – Yōzei, Japanese emperor (d. 949) 1403 – Basilios Bessarion, Greek cardinal and scholar (d. 1472) 1462 – Piero di Cosimo, Italian painter (d. 1522) 1642 – Mehmed IV, Ottoman sultan (d. 1693) 1647 – Nathaniel Bacon, English-American rebel leader (d. 1676) 1699 – Osman III, Ottoman sultan (d. 1757) 1713 – Marie Dumesnil, French actress (d. 1803) 1719 – Jacques-Alexandre Laffon de Ladebat, French shipbuilder and merchant (d. 1797) 1727 – James Wolfe, English general (d. 1759) 1732 – František Brixi, Czech organist and composer (d. 1771) 1777 – Christian Daniel Rauch, German sculptor and educator (d. 1857) 1822 – Rudolf Clausius, Polish-German physicist and mathematician (d. 1888) 1827 – Pyotr Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, Russian geographer and statistician (d. 1914) 1833 – Frederick A. Johnson, American banker and politician (d. 1893) 1836 – Queen Emma of Hawaii (d. 1885) 1836 – Mendele Mocher Sforim, Russian author (d. 1917) 1837 – Mily Balakirev, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1910) 1851 – Ludwig von Graff, Austrian zoologist (d. 1924) 1852 – Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan, Turkish playwright and poet (d. 1937) 1857 – M. Carey Thomas, American educator and activist (d. 1935) 1860 – William Corless Mills, American historian and curator (d. 1928) 1860 – Dugald Campbell Patterson, Canadian engineer (d. 1931) 1866 – Gilbert Murray, Australian-English playwright and scholar (d. 1957) 1870 – Ernst Barlach, German sculptor and playwright (d. 1938) 1873 – Thérèse of Lisieux, French nun and saint (d. 1897) 1873 – Antonie Pannekoek, Dutch astronomer and theorist (d. 1960) 1876 – Aquiles Serdán, Mexican activist and politician (d. 1910) 1878 – Mannathu Padmanabha Pillai, Indian activist, founded the Nair Service Society (d. 1970) 1879 – Rudolf Bauer, Hungarian discus thrower (d. 1932) 1884 – Ben-Zion Dinur, Russian-Israeli historian and politician, 4th Israeli Minister of Education (d. 1973) 1885 – Gordon Flowerdew, Canadian lieutenant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1918) 1886 – Apsley Cherry-Garrard, English explorer and author (d. 1959) 1886 – Florence Lawrence, Canadian-American actress (d. 1938) 1887 – Burhan Asaf Belge, Turkish diplomat (d. 1967) 1889 – Bertram Stevens, Australian accountant and politician, 25th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1973) 1890 – Henrik Visnapuu, Estonian-American poet and playwright (d. 1951) 1891 – Giovanni Michelucci, Italian architect and urban planner, designed the Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station (d. 1990) 1892 – Seiichiro Kashio, Japanese tennis player (d. 1962) 1893 – Lillian Leitzel, German acrobat and strongwoman (d. 1931) 1895 – Folke Bernadotte, Swedish lieutenant and diplomat (d. 1948) 1896 – Dziga Vertov, Polish-Russian director and screenwriter (d. 1954) 1896 – Lawrence Wackett, Australian commander and engineer (d. 1982) 1897 – Jim Londos, Greek-American wrestler (d. 1975) 1898 – Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, American economist and lawyer (d. 1989) 1900 – William Haines, American actor and interior designer (d. 1973) 1901 – Bob Marshall, American activist, co-founded The Wilderness Society (d. 1939) 1902 – Dan Keating, Irish soldier (d. 2007) 1904 – Truus Klapwijk, Dutch diver and swimmer (d. 1991) 1905 – Jainendra Kumar, Indian author and translator (d. 1988) 1905 – Lev Schnirelmann, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1938) 1905 – Michael Tippett, English composer and conductor (d. 1998) 1905 – Luigi Zampa, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1991) 1909 – Riccardo Cassin, Italian mountaineer and author (d. 2009) 1909 – Barry Goldwater, American general and politician (d. 1998) 1913 – Anna Lee, English-American actress (d. 2004) 1913 – Juanita Jackson Mitchell, American lawyer and activist (d. 1992) 1914 – Kenny Clarke, American drummer and composer (Modern Jazz Quartet) (d. 1985) 1914 – Noor Inayat Khan, Russian-English SOE agent (d. 1944) 1916 – Zypora Spaisman, Polish-American midwife, actress, and producer for the Yiddish stage (d. 2002) 1917 – Vera Zorina, German-Norwegian actress and dancer (d. 2003) 1918 – Willi Graf, German physician and activist (d. 1943) 1920 – Isaac Asimov, Russian-American chemist, author, and academic (d. 1992) 1921 – Glen Harmon, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007) 1923 – Rachel Waterhouse, English historian and author 1924 – Evgenios Spatharis, Greek puppeteer, actor, and director (d. 2009) 1925 – William J. Crowe, American admiral and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (d. 2007) 1925 – Giacomo Furia, Italian actor and screenwriter (d. 2015) 1928 – Avie Bennett, Canadian businessman and philanthropist 1928 – Daisaku Ikeda, Japanese religious leader 1928 – Robert Goralski, American journalist and author (d. 1988) 1928 – Kate Molale, South African activist and politician (d. 1980) 1931 – James D. Murray, Scottish mathematician and academic 1931 – Toshiki Kaifu, Japanese lawyer and politician, 76th Prime Minister of Japan 1932 – Peter Redgrove, English poet, author, and playwright (d. 2003) 1933 – Ed Casey, Australian banker and politician (d. 2006) 1933 – Seiichi Morimura, Japanese author 1933 – Richard Riley, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 6th United States Secretary of Education 1933 – Keith Thomas, Welsh historian, author, and academic 1935 – David McKee, English author and illustrator 1935 – Lolo Soetoro, Indonesian geographer and academic (d. 1987) 1936 – Roger Miller, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1992) 1937 – David Bailey, English photographer and painter 1937 – Martin Lauer, German runner and journalist 1938 – Lynn Conway, American computer scientist, engineer, and academic 1938 – Hans Herbjørnsrud, Norwegian author and educator 1938 – Goh Kun, South Korean politician, 31st Prime Minister of South Korea 1938 – Robert Smithson, American sculptor and photographer (d. 1973) 1940 – Saud bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian economist and politician, Saudi Arabian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2015) 1940 – S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan, Indian-American mathematician and academic 1942 – Thomas Hammarberg, Swedish lawyer and diplomat 1942 – Dennis Hastert, American educator and politician, 59th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives 1942 – Ray Moore, English radio host (d. 1989) 1942 – Hugh Shelton, American general 1943 – Janet Akyüz Mattei, Turkish-American astronomer (d. 2004) 1944 – Péter Eötvös, Hungarian composer and conductor 1944 – Norodom Ranariddh, Cambodian field marshal and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Cambodia 1946 – Sonny Ruberto, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2014) 1947 – Jack Hanna, American zoologist and author 1947 – Calvin Hill, American football player 1947 – David Shapiro, American poet, historian, and critic 1948 – Judith Miller, American journalist and author 1948 – Joyce Wadler, American journalist and author 1949 – Christopher Durang, American playwright and screenwriter 1949 – Jean Krier, Luxembourger poet (d. 2013) 1949 – Iris Marion Young, American political scientist, philosopher, and academic (d. 2006) 1950 – Débora Duarte, Brazilian actress 1950 – David Shifrin, American clarinet player and educator 1950 – Anatoli Ushanov, Russian footballer and coach 1951 – Stipe Božić, Croatian mountaineer and photographer 1951 – Jim Essian, American baseball player and coach 1951 – Alexander Pogrebinsky, Ukrainian-American painter and educator 1952 – Jimmy Santiago Baca, American poet and author 1952 – Indulis Emsis, Latvian biologist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Latvia 1952 – Robbie Ftorek, American ice hockey player and coach 1952 – Wendy Phillips, American actress 1952 – Graeme Strachan, Australian singer-songwriter (Skyhooks) (d. 2001) 1953 – Vincent Racaniello, American virologist, author, and academic 1953 – Jacques Tichelaar, Dutch educator and politician 1954 – Henry Bonilla, American broadcaster and politician 1956 – Lynda Barry, American cartoonist and author 1956 – John Bedford Lloyd, American actor 1957 – Beppe Gabbiani, Italian race car driver 1958 – Helen Goodman, English lawyer and politician 1958 – Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Russian pianist and educator 1959 – Kirti Azad, Indian cricketer and politician 1959 – Ines Müller, German shot putter 1960 – Raman Lamba, Indian cricketer (d. 1998) 1960 – Naoki Urasawa, Japanese illustrator, singer, and guitarist 1961 – Gabrielle Carteris, American actress 1961 – Todd Haynes, American director and screenwriter 1961 – Craig James, American football player and sportscaster 1961 – Hitoshi Saito, Japanese martial artist (d. 2015) 1961 – Robert Wexler, American lawyer and politician 1963 – David Cone, American baseball player and sportscaster 1963 – Edgar Martínez, American baseball player 1964 – Michael McCann, Scottish lawyer and politician 1965 – Greg Swindell, American baseball player and coach 1967 – Jón Gnarr, Icelandic actor and politician; 20th Mayor of Reykjavik City 1967 – Robert Liberace, American painter 1967 – Francois Pienaar, South African rugby player 1968 – Cuba Gooding, Jr., American actor and producer 1968 – Anky van Grunsven, Dutch horse rider 1969 – István Bagyula, Hungarian pole vaulter 1969 – William Fox-Pitt, English horse rider and journalist 1969 – Robby Gordon, American race car driver 1969 – Karl-Heinz Grasser, Austrian businessman and politician, 16th Finance Minister of Austria 1969 – Patrick Huard, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter 1969 – Glen Johnson, Jamaican boxer 1969 – Tommy Morrison, American boxer and actor (d. 2013) 1969 – Christy Turlington, American model 1970 – Eric Whitacre, American composer and conductor 1970 – Ogie Diaz, Filipino comedian and actor 1971 – Taye Diggs, American actor 1971 – Renée Elise Goldsberry, American actress 1971 – Lisa Harrison, American basketball player 1972 – Adam Elliot, Australian animator and screenwriter 1972 – Paweł Januszewski, Polish hurdler 1972 – Rodney MacDonald, Canadian educator and politician, 26th Premier of Nova Scotia 1972 – Hristos Meletoglou, German-Greek triple jumper 1972 – Mattias Norström, Swedish ice hockey player and manager 1973 – Lucy Davis, English actress 1974 – Jason de Vos, Canadian soccer player and sportscaster 1974 – Ludmila Formanová, Czech runner 1974 – Tomáš Řepka, Czech footballer 1975 – Chris Cheney, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer (The Living End and The Wrights) 1975 – David Sandström, Swedish singer-songwriter and drummer (Refused, AC4 and Final Exit) 1975 – Dax Shepard, American actor 1975 – Jeff Suppan, American baseball player 1975 – Reuben Thorne, New Zealand rugby player 1976 – Hrysopiyi Devetzi, Greek jumper 1977 – Brian Boucher, American ice hockey player and sportscaster 1977 – Stefan Koubek, Austrian tennis player 1977 – Aleš Píša, Czech ice hockey player 1978 – Karina Smirnoff, Ukrainian-American dancer 1978 – Kjartan Sveinsson, Icelandic keyboard player (Sigur Rós) 1978 – Megumi Toyoguchi, Japanese voice actress and singer 1979 – Tim Cruz, American singer (B3 and React) 1979 – Jonathan Greening, English footballer and coach 1980 – Georgios Dedas, Greek basketball player 1980 – Melvin Holwijn, Dutch footballer 1980 – Jérôme Pineau, French cyclist 1981 – Hanno Balitsch, German footballer 1981 – Ryan Garko, American baseball player 1981 – Kirk Hinrich, American basketball player 1981 – Maxi Rodríguez, Argentinian footballer 1982 – Athanasia Tsoumeleka, Greek race walker 1983 – Kate Bosworth, American actress 1984 – Otacílio Jales, Brazilian footballer 1985 – Ivan Dodig, Croatian tennis player 1985 – Marius Neset, Norwegian saxophonist and composer (JazzKamikaze) 1985 – Heather O'Reilly, American soccer player 1986 – Ediz Bahtiyaroğlu, Turkish-Bosnian footballer (d. 2012) 1986 – Nicolás Bertolo, Argentinian footballer 1986 – Trombone Shorty, American trumpet player and composer 1988 – Damien Tussac, French-German rugby player 1989 – Maksims Bogdanovs, Latvian motorcycle racer 1989 – Şeref Osmanoğlu, Ukrainian-Turkish triple jumper 1990 – Karel Abraham, Czech motorcycle racer 1990 – Maurício Alves Peruchi, Brazilian footballer (d. 2014) 1991 – Davide Santon, Italian footballer 1991 – Luis Pedro Cavanda, Belgian footballer 1993 – Bryson Tiller, American singer-songwriter Deaths 1512 – Svante Nilsson, Sweden politician (b. 1460) 1514 – William Smyth, English bishop and academic (b. 1460) 1557 – Pontormo, Italian painter and educator (b. 1494) 1664 – Georg II of Fleckenstein-Dagstuhl (b. 1588) 1726 – Domenico Zipoli, Italian organist and composer (b. 1688) 1849 – Micanopy, American tribal chief (b. 1780) 1861 – Frederick William IV of Prussia (b. 1795) 1892 – George Biddell Airy, English mathematician and astronomer (b. 1801) 1904 – James Longstreet, American general and diplomat (b. 1821) 1913 – Léon Teisserenc de Bort, French meteorologist (b. 1855) 1915 – Karl Goldmark, Hungarian violinist and composer (b. 1830) 1917 – Léon Flameng, French cyclist (b. 1877) 1920 – Paul Adam, French author (b. 1862) 1924 – Sabine Baring-Gould, English author and scholar (b. 1834) 1937 – Ross Alexander, American stage and film actor (b. 1907) 1939 – Roman Dmowski, Polish businesswoman and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1864) 1941 – Mischa Levitzki, Russian-American pianist and composer (b. 1898) 1946 – Joe Darling, Australian cricketer and politician (b. 1870) 1948 – Vicente Huidobro, Chilean poet (b. 1893) 1950 – James Dooley, Irish-Australian politician, 21st Premier of New South Wales (b. 1877) 1950 – Theophrastos Sakellaridis, Greek composer and conductor (b. 1883) 1951 – William Campion, English colonel and politician, 21st Governor of Western Australia (b. 1870) 1959 – Chris van Abkoude, Dutch-American author (b. 1880) 1960 – Paul Sauvé, Canadian lawyer and politician, 17th Premier of Quebec (b. 1907) 1963 – Dick Powell, American actor, singer, and director (b. 1904) 1963 – Jack Carson, Canadian-American actor (b. 1910) 1968 – Nikolai Stepulov, Russian-Estonian boxer (b. 1913) 1974 – Tex Ritter, American actor (b. 1905) 1977 – Erroll Garner, American pianist and composer (b. 1921) 1983 – Dick Emery, English comedian and actor (b. 1915) 1986 – Una Merkel, American actress (b. 1903) 1987 – Harekrushna Mahatab, Indian journalist and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Odisha (b. 1899) 1989 – Safdar Hashmi, Indian actor, director, and playwright (b. 1954) 1990 – Alan Hale, Jr., American film and television actor (b. 1921) 1990 – Evangelos Averoff, Greek historian and politician, Greek Minister for National Defence (b. 1910) 1990 – Leonhard Merzin, Estonian actor (b. 1934) 1994 – Dixy Lee Ray, American biologist and politician; 17th Governor of Washington (b. 1914) 1994 – Pierre-Paul Schweitzer, French lawyer and businessman (b. 1915) 1995 – Siad Barre, Somalian general and politician; 3rd President of Somalia (b. 1919) 1995 – Nancy Kelly, American actress (b. 1921) 1996 – Karl Targownik, Hungarian-American psychiatrist and author (b. 1915) 1996 – Karl Rappan, Austrian footballer and coach (b. 1905) 1997 – Randy California, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Spirit and The Blue Flames) (b. 1951) 1998 – Frank Muir, English radio and television host (b. 1920) 1999 – Rolf Liebermann, Swiss-French composer and manager (b. 1910) 1999 – Sebastian Haffner, German journalist and author (b. 1907) 2000 – Elmo Zumwalt, American admiral (b. 1920) 2000 – Patrick O'Brian, English author and translator (b. 1914) 2001 – William P. Rogers, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 55th United States Secretary of State (b. 1913) 2005 – Edo Murtić, Croatian painter and educator (b. 1921) 2005 – Frank Kelly Freas, American illustrator and painter (b. 1922) 2005 – Maclyn McCarty, American geneticist and physician (b. 1911) 2006 – Osa Massen, Danish-American actress (b. 1914) 2006 – Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, Filipino lawyer and jurist (b. 1913) 2007 – A. Richard Newton, Australian-American engineer and academic (b. 1951) 2007 – Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, American historian and author (b. 1941) 2007 – Garry Betty, American businessman (b. 1957) 2007 – Mauno Jokipii, Finnish author and academic (b. 1924) 2007 – Teddy Kollek, Hungarian-Israeli politician, Mayor of Jerusalem (b. 1911) 2007 – David Perkins, American geneticist and academic (b. 1919) 2007 – Robert C. Solomon, American philosopher, author, and academic (b. 1942) 2008 – Galyani Vadhana, Thai princess (b. 1923) 2008 – George MacDonald Fraser, Scottish journalist and author (b. 1925) 2008 – Lee S. Dreyfus, American sailor, academic, and politician, 40th Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1926) 2008 – Martinus Tels, Dutch physicist and engineer (b. 1926) 2009 – Inger Christensen, Danish poet and author (b. 1935) 2010 – David R. Ross, Scottish historian and author (b. 1958) 2011 – Anne Francis, American actress (b. 1930) 2011 – Bali Ram Bhagat, Indian politician; 16th Governor of Rajasthan (b. 1922) 2011 – Pete Postlethwaite, English actor (b. 1946) 2012 – Gordon Hirabayashi, American-Canadian sociologist and academic (b. 1918) 2012 – Larry Reinhardt, American guitarist (Iron Butterfly and Captain Beyond) (b. 1948) 2012 – Silvana Gallardo, American actress and producer (b. 1953) 2012 – William P. Carey, American businessman and philanthropist, founded W. P. Carey (b. 1930) 2012 – Yoshiro Hayashi, Japanese golfer (b. 1922) 2013 – Gerda Lerner, Austrian-American historian, author, and academic (b. 1920) 2013 – Maulvi Nazir, Pakistani militant leader (b. 1975) 2013 – Teresa Torańska, Polish journalist and author (b. 1944) 2014 – Anne Dorte of Rosenborg (b. 1947) 2014 – Bernard Glasser, American director and producer (b. 1924) 2014 – Elizabeth Jane Howard, English author and screenwriter (b. 1923) 2014 – Thomas Kurzhals, German keyboard player and songwriter (Karat and Stern-Combo Meißen) (b. 1953) 2014 – Michael J. Matthews, American lawyer and politician; 34th Mayor of Atlantic City (b. 1934) 2014 – Jay Traynor, American singer-songwriter (The Mystics and Jay and the Americans) (b. 1943) 2015 – Abu Anas al-Libi, Libyan terrorist (b. 1964) 2015 – Derek Minter, English motorcycle racer (b. 1932) 2015 – Tihomir Novakov, Serbian-American physicist and academic (b. 1929) 2016 – Nimr al-Nimr, Saudi Arabian religious leader (b. 1959) 2016 – Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1924) 2016 – Michel Delpech, French singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1946) 2016 – Frances Cress Welsing, American psychiatrist and author (b. 1935) Holidays and observances Christian feast day: Basil the Great (Catholic Church and Church of England) Defendens of Thebes Gregory of Nazianzus (Catholic Church) Johann Konrad Wilhelm Löhe (Lutheran Church) Macarius of Alexandria Seraphim of Sarov (repose) Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah (Episcopal Church) January 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)) Earliest day on which the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus is observed, while January 5 is the latest; celebrated on Sunday between January 2 and 5. (Roman Catholic Church) The ninth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity) Ancestry Day (Haiti) Berchtold's Day (Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the Alsace) Blacks and Whites' Carnival, January 2–7 (southern Colombia) Carnival of Riosucio, January 2–8 celebrated every 2 years. (Riosucio) Carnival Day (Saint Kitts and Nevis) Funaoroshi (Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan) Kakizome (Japan) National Creampuff Day (United States) National Science Fiction Day (United States) The second day of New Year (a holiday in Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Mauritius, Montenegro, New Zealand, Romania, Russia, Switzerland, Ukraine): New Year Holiday (Scotland), if it is a Sunday, the day moves to January 3 Kaapse Klopse (Cape Town, South Africa) Nyinlong (Bhutan) Victory of Armed Forces Day (Cuba) External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to January 2. BBC: On This Day The New York Times: On This Day Today in Canadian History Category:Days of the year Category:January